Tag Archives: Alberta

Wanted All Over The World

Wanted All Over the World – George Thorogood and The Destroyers – Canada 1981 – Part 2

2 Comments

This is one of a series of posts expanding on my 50 States in 50 Dates blog by documenting the global touring adventures of George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers and the earlier years of their career.

Quick Links:

Student Union Building Theatre. University of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta.

Date:  March 8, 1981. The Destroyers performed two concerts at the University of Edmonton on this date.

Venue: Student Union Building Theatre. University of Alberta. 8900 114 St. NW. Edmonton, AB. T6G 2J7. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/S5er96KCwK3tCWtV8

Venue Exterior: 

1984:

Source: University of Alberta. Evergreen and Gold Year in Review. 1984. Pg. 98.

2022:

Venue Interior:

1974:

Source: University of Alberta Department of Radio and Television. 1974.

Opening Act:  Tom See.

Source: Owensboro Messenger Inquirer. Oct. 19, 1979. Pg. C1.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 shows at the University of Alberta Student Union Theatre.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 13, 1981. Pg. D4.

Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 13, 1981. Pg. D8.

Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 14, 1981. Pg. D14.

Ticket Price:  $8.50.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub from these concerts. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  Unknown. The U of A SUB Theatre currently has capacity for 720 people. These concerts were sold out.

Set List: Unknown.

Were these Concerts Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photos of the Destroyers performing in Edmonton on March 8, 1981.

Above: Photo of the lineup for Destroyers tickets at the University of Alberta. Source: University of Alberta Gateway. Feb. 18, 1981. Pg. 7.

Concert Reaction:

Allen Kellogg of the Edmonton Journal filed this mostly unflattering review of the Destroyers’ early show at the University of Alberta Student Union Building Theatre on March 8, 1981:

“As a colleague observed after George Thorogood’s first concert last night, every generation has to discover rock for itself.  In this sense, Thorogood serves his purpose, and no one can deny the man’s current popularity. Coming out of music-biz ‘nowhere’ on the tiny Rounder record label, Delaware’s gift to entertainment has become a hot commodity. His original, one-concert Edmonton appearance has stretched to four sold-out shows over two nights.

Still, being old enough to have experienced rock and ’50s urban blues the first time around, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the younger faces in the packed house. Thorogood’s particular bottle of Jim Beam is one watered-down drink, to borrow the white boy’s street talk he favors.

The first problem centres on the Destroyers, a three-man backup unit of drums, tenor sax and bass. Destroyers?  More like Anyband, U.S.A. considering the numbing mediocrity involved…

The man himself works hard and deserves full marks on (literally) staying close to his audience, who he immediately invited to dance in the area fronting the stage. With a succession of Berry duck-walks, high kicks and flights out into the crowd, Thorogood understands something about showmanship, but it’s funny that even in this, the moves are as derivative as the music itself…

Edmonton newcomer Tom See opened impressively, with a fine selection of originals. Much has been made of See’s background as a top session player on the street of late, and the hype is deserved.  This man will quickly become a big name in local circles — without a doubt.”

Source: Edmonton Journal. March 9, 1981. Pg. C1.

An unnamed editor from the University of Alberta’s Gateway student newspaper wrote a similarly unfavorable review about the Destroyers’ late show at the Student Union Building Theatre on March 8, 1981:

“Theoretically I should have loved the George Thorogood and the Destroyers concert at SUB Sunday. After all, the band’s taste in Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, good old rock ‘n’ roll and blues is mighty close to my own.  Moreover, the band was suffused with exuberance, a prerequisite to any kind of good music, and their instrumental talents, to judge by the precision of their playing, were competent enough.

What dragged the show down was, first of all, the overwhelming sound level (my ears are still ringing). Second, every number save one (a sluggish and tortuous blues number as bad as anything done by the old Fleetwood Mac) was a jackhammer rocker.

Such freneticism exhausts one rather quickly.  Even the healthy young motor maniacs dancing in the front of the stage showed signs of glycogen depletion after a few songs.

Thirdly, the songs might as well have been arranged by a neanderthal.  Most of the time everyone seemed to be playing rhythm, and when someone finally did bust out into a solo it was generally skimpy on melody and heavy on rhythmic embellishment.  I quickly lost track of the number of one, two and three-note guitar solos Thorogood played.  Their uniformly blistering tonal quality also grated after a while.”

Source: University of Alberta Gateway. March 10, 1981. Pg. 8.

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: The University of Alberta’s Student Union Building Theatre (aka the Horowitz Theatre) continues to host live performances and other public events.

Convention Inn South. Edmonton, Alberta.

Date:  March 9, 1981.

Venue: Convention Inn South. 4404 Calgary Trail. Edmonton, AB. T6H 5W6. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/pQc4sWa7jqao2HQcA

Venue Exterior: 

1975:

Source: Edmonton Journal. July 7, 1975. Pg. 8.

2015:

Venue Interior:

1980:

I am still looking for a good photo inside the Convention Inn South’s ballroom, circa 1981. Please send me a note of you have a lead.

Opening Act:  Unknown.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ March 9th, 1981 show at the Convention Inn South.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion:

Above: Newspaper article mentioning the Destroyers’ added show at the Convention Inn South on March 10, 1981. The date was changed to March 9, 1981 soon after. Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 24, 1981. Pg. B9.

Above: This listing of Edmonton-area concerts also has the Destroyers’ Convention Inn South show happening on March 10, 1981. Source: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. NAIT Nugget. Feb. 26, 1981. Pg. 7.

Source: Edmonton Journal. March 5, 1981. Pg. B16.

Ticket Price:  $9.00.

Ticket Stub:

Attendance:  Unknown. The Convention Inn South’s ballroom had capacity for 2,000 people in 1975.

Source: Edmonton Journal. July 7, 1975. Pg. 8.

Set List: Unknown. Please send me a note if you have any details.

Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos:

Source: Facebook.

Concert Reaction: I have not (yet) found a contemporary printed review for this concert, circa 1981. Please send me a note if you can point me in the right direction.  

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue:

The Convention Inn South was sold in 1997 and rebranded as the Delta Edmonton South in 1998.

Source: Edmonton Journal. Aug. 28, 1998. Pg. F2.

Riviera Rock Room. Edmonton, Alberta.

Date:  March 9, 1981.

Venue: Riviera Rock Room. Riviera Hotel. 5359 Calgary Trail NW. Edmonton, AB. T6H 4J9. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/C4CBTQ6TS9JeuVyt9

Venue Exterior: 

1960s:

2020:

Venue Interior:

1972:

Above: The Riviera Rock Room in its previous incarnation as the Fantasia Room. Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 8, 1972. Pg. 14.

1979:

Above: The BowSharonas pose for a group photo inside the Riviera Rock Room. Source: Facebook.

Opening Act:  Unknown.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 show at the Riviera Rock Room.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 27, 1981. Pg. D4.

Source: Edmonton Journal. Mar. 5, 1981. Pg. B16.

Ticket Price:  Unknown.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub to this concert. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  250.

Source: Edmonton Journal. Feb. 27, 1981. Pg. D4.

Set List: Unknown.

Was this Concert Recorded? Yes. This concert was broadcast on CIRK-FM radio.

Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photographs of this concert. Please send me a note if you have any leads.

Concert Reaction: I am still looking for a contemporary printed review of the Destroyers’ concert at the Riviera Rock Room, circa March 1981.

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: The Riviera Rock Room was open until at least 1992.

Eric Harvie Theatre. Banff, Alberta.

Date:  March 10, 1981.

Venue: Eric Harvie Theatre. 107 Tunnel Mountain Dr. Banff, AB. T1L 1H5. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/eLN5ZUeZs8uhMbgc7

Venue Exterior: 

Circa 1970:

Source: Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

2015:

Venue Interior:

Pre-2021 renovation:

Opening Act:  Unknown.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 show at the Eric Harvie Theatre.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Source: Calgary Herald. March 5, 1981. Pg. D3.

Ticket Price:  $9.00 advance; $10.00 at the door.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub to this concert. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  Unknown. The Eric Harvie Theatre had seats for 1,000 people in 1991.

Source: Canadian Encyclopedia.

Set List: Unknown.

Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photos of the Destroyers in concert at the Eric Harvie Theatre in March 1981. Please send me a note if you have any to share.

Concert Reaction:

A year after the fact, writer Bob Jamieson mentioned the Destroyers’ concert at the Eric Harvie Theatre in a 1982 article about skiing in Alberta and British Columbia:

“Nighttime on Banff Avenue. I’m drunk and loose in the ski town at the base of the romantic Canadian Rockies. That night we took in George Thorogood and the Destroyers in concert in the Banff School of Fine Arts theater. The music was wild, of course, but that George, I couldn’t understand him. First he drives the Chicklet chompers wild, then when they crawl onto the stage to do unspeakable things, he gets his hands to toss them back into the audience.”

Source: Ski. March 1982. Pg. 48.

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: At the time of this writing, the Eric Harvie Theatre continues to serve as a venue for the performing arts.

Wanted All Over The World

Wanted All Over the World – George Thorogood and The Destroyers – Canada 1981 – Part 1

2 Comments

This is one of a series of posts expanding on my 50 States in 50 Dates blog by documenting the global touring adventures of George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers and the earlier years of their career.

Quick Links:

Above: 1981 print ad for Attic Records, the record label issuing George Thorogood and the Destroyers’ albums in Canada in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Source: Billboard Magazine. Jan. 24, 1981.

Commodore Ballroom. Vancouver, British Columbia.

Date:  March 3 & 4, 1981. Two shows per night.

Venue: Commodore Ballroom. 868 Granville St. Vancouver, BC. V6Z 1K3. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/4J1tXtknWAhW7DMA7

Venue Exterior: 

1981:

Source: City of Vancouver Archives.

2018:

Venue Interior:

Date Unknown:

1979:

Source: Vancouver Sun. Nov. 30, 1979. Pg. 2L.

Opening Act:  Wailin’ Walker and the Houserockers.

Source: Vancouver Sun. Aug. 18, 1983. Pg. D1.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 shows at the Commodore Ballroom.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Above: Newspaper ad for the early and late shows by George “Thorgood” (sp) and the Destroyers at the Commodore Ballroom on March 4, 1981. The March 3rd shows were added soon after. Source: Vancouver Sun. Feb. 7, 1981. Pg. C10.

Source: Vancouver Sun. Feb. 24, 1981. Pg. C5.

Source: Vancouver Sun. Feb. 27, 1981. Pg. L42.

Ticket Price:  $9.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub from these concerts. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  1,000 per show (4,000 total).

Source: Billboard Magazine. March 21, 1981. Pg. 70.

Set List:

March 3, 1981 (early show):

  • House of Blue Lights.
  • One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
  • Bottom of the Sea.
  • Cocaine Blues.
  • Move It On Over.
  • Reelin’ and Rockin’.

Sources: Ubyssey News. March 6, 1981. Pg. 7; The Province. March 4, 1981. Pg. A6; Vancouver Sun. March 4, 1981. Pg. B1; The Other Press. March 12, 1981. Pg. 6.

Were these Concerts Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos:

Source: Vancouver Sun. March 4, 1981. Pg. B1.

Concert Reaction:

As Vancouver Province music critic Tom Harrison reported, the beer and the music were popular at the Destroyers’ early show at the Commodore Ballroom on March 3, 1981:

“[A] reliable measure of the compatibility of a rock and roll band and beer – amber elixir of the hairy mass – is the length of the line to the washroom.  On Tuesday, the Commodore’s were jammed.

The occasion was the first sold-out show of four by George Thorogood and the Destroyers […] and as far as beer-drinking and hell-raising go, the combination of Thorogood and good old skunky Canadian beer was a match made in heaven…

Destroyers Jeff Simon (drums), Billy Blough (bass) and the significant addition of Hank Carter on sax are the sturdy, well-named but otherwise anonymous unit that greases Thorogood’s wheels.  Together, from House Of Blue Lights through a murderous Reelin’ and Rockin’, George and the boys are honkers, shouters, troubleshooters and Bo Diddley-style gunslingers.

There isn’t a lot to what they do; it’s how they do it. Thorogood is not so much a blues musician as he is someone who knows what counts.  In his case, energy, showmanship, honesty, integrity. And communion. The first show was only three songs old when George surveyed his parishioners and commented, “It’s nice to see the dancefloor christened so early in the sermon.”  So, the Commodore was a church for a night and beer the holy water.”

Source: The Province. March 4, 1981. Pg. A6.

Vancouver Sun music critic Fiona McQuarrie had these positive words to say about the Destroyers’ early show at the Commodore Ballroom on March 3, 1981:

“Thorogood and his band, the Destroyers, cement their reputation as first-rate entertainers every time they hit this town. They play rock with the energy and drive that it deserves, and, best of all, they make sure everybody has a good time while they do it.

Wednesday night at the Commodore, for the first of four sellout shows, the four-man band (in front of a sign proclaiming ”World’s Original Five-Man Trio!!!”) blasted their way through a two-hour set that left them dripping with sweat and the audience, with beer cans up to their ankles, screaming for more.  That was no concert, that was a party.

Thorogood is the musical equivalent of a revivalist preacher, bringing the spirit of rock and roll to the masses with a frenzied intensity.  He even swings his microphone over the crowd and touches the head of his guitar to the heads of the people in the front row, as if he was blessing them in some bizarre ritual.

He’s a powerful, relentless guitarist, and […] and he never stops moving.  He duckwalks across the stage, he does split-second knee drops (accentuated by cymbal crashes from drummer Jeff Simon), he jumps onto the dance floor, he climbs on a table and churns out his [solos] while fans shake their fists in time to the music.

Simon and bassist Bill Blough are an airtight rhythm section, keeping the steady beat that Thorogood plays off and embellishes upon. And the newest Destroyer, dapper saxophonist Hank Carter, adds an extra element to the sound while trading off some dynamic riffs with Thorogood.”

Source: Vancouver Sun. March 4, 1981. Pg. B1.

Steve McClure of the University of British Columbia’s “Ubyssey” student newspaper wrote a positive review of one of the Destroyers’ shows on March 3, 1981:

“Boom boom, out go the lights… and several neurons and all self-control.  George Thorogood’s concert Tuesday night at the Commodore was one occasion where you had to be severely out of it to appreciate the raw energy of the crazed bluesman when plying his craft.

Not that you had to lower your critical standards when boppin’ to Mr. Thorogood, but it sure does help to become totally, well, involved.  Thorogood plays an absolutely undiluted brand of blues-rock that leaves most of his competitors wondering what hit them.  He doesn’t hold anything back, playing the most screeching and intense rock and roll imaginable. If he doesn’t have such a great voice, well who cares, his guitar speaks volumes anyway…

Thorogood believes in his music, and likes to tell people about it. “‘Don’t watch me,” he told the crowd at one point, “get up there and dance!”  And some people actually did, although many preferred to join in the pulsating throng of Thorogoodians in front of the stage.  You could feel the sweat in the air.

The man […] knows how to work a crowd, jumping into it with abandon, getting people involved with the music.  Truly a people’s performer…  Sometimes the pace slowed down enough for Thorogood to want to do some laid-back blues but for the most part he stuck to basic rock, which is all everybody at the Commodore wanted.”

Source: Ubyssey News. March 6, 1981. Pg. 7.

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: The Commodore Ballroom continues to host concerts and other public events.

Kelowna Community Theatre. Kelowna, British Columbia.

Date:  March 5, 1981.

Venue: Kelowna Community Theatre. 1375 Water St. Kelowna, BC. V1Y 0B4. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/zfCVCo7mFfM3VaQaA

Venue Exterior: 

1965:

Source: Kelowna Community Theatre.

2021:

Venue Interior: I am still looking for a photo inside the Kelowna Community Theatre, circa 1981. Please send me a note of you have a lead.

Opening Act:  Unknown.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ March 5th, 1981 show at the Kelowna Community Theatre.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: I am still looking for any advertising to promote this concert.

Ticket Price:  Unknown.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub to this concert. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  Unknown. Depending on the source, the Kelowna Community Theatre had capacity for an audience of 853 or 875 people at this time.

Set List: Unknown. Please send me a note if you have any details.

Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photographs of this concert. Please send me a note if you have any leads.

Concert Reaction: I have not (yet) found a contemporary printed review for this concert, circa 1981. Please send me a note if you can point me in the right direction.  

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: At the time of this writing, the Kelowna Community Theatre continues to function as a venue for live performances and other public events.

Marquis Hall. University of Saskatchewan. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Date:  March 6, 1981. The Destroyers performed two shows at Marquis Hall on this date.

Venue: Marquis Hall. University of Saskatchewan. 97 Campus Dr. Saskatoon, SK. S7N 4L3. Canada.

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/C4CBTQ6TS9JeuVyt9

Venue Exterior: 

1980:

Source: University of Saskatchewan Archives.

2014:

Venue Interior:

1981:

Source: University of Saskatchewan Archives.

Opening Act:  The Whales.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Aug. 18, 1980. Pg. C13.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 show at Marquis Hall.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Source: Sheaf. March 4, 1981. Pg. 6.

Source: Sheaf. March 4, 1981. Pg. 11.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. March 6, 1981. Pg. D1.

Above: As you can see, the Destroyers concerts on March 6, 1981 were originally going to take place at Saskatoon’s Centennial Auditorium. The shows were moved to Marquis Hall because of a strike by unionized city workers.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Feb. 26, 1981. Pg. D1.

Above: Saskatoon’s Centennial Auditorium.

Ticket Price:  Unknown.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub to this concert. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  Unknown. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported that the Destroyers played to “two packed houses” on this date. The Marquis Hall Events Centre currently has capacity for 450 people.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. March 7, 1981.

Set List:

March 6, 1981 (early show):

  • House of Blue Lights.
  • The Sky is Crying.
  • Cocaine Blues.
  • One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
  • Madison Blues.
  • It Wasn’t Me.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. March 7, 1981.

Were these Concerts Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photographs of these concerts. Please send me a note if you have any leads.

Concert Reaction:

Bill Robertson of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix had this to say about the Destroyers’ early show at Marquis Hall in Saskatoon on March 6, 1981:

“After wavering between fact and fiction, strike and settlement, one of the cult heroes of the rock and roll scene, George Thorogood, finally found a place to play in Marquis Hall on the U. of S. campus Friday night.  And play he did.

George Thorogood and his Delaware Destroyers have been destroying concert halls, cabarets, clubs and bars since well before the release of his first of three albums issued to date. Critics have called him derivative, unoriginal, and a rehash of old standards but those critics are still talking and Thorogood is still packing the houses and bringing the fans to their feet.

Whatever rock and roll is, it’s supposed to be fun and two packed houses in Saskatoon can attest to the fact that Thorogood’s music is fun…

Thorogood put his low strung Gibson through the paces while sidemen on bass, drums and saxophone charged on behind him. After one run through [the venue], during which Thorogood ran down onto the dance floor and up on to some tables while playing, he called the crowd in and had the people move up front. From there he started all over and let blast with his distinctive brand of rough and ready, rock and roll.

Thorogood is capable of some of the most restrained and evocative electric blues music on the road today […] but it is the raw voice and the wild guitar that have set him apart as a big draw on the club circuit.  Thorogood’s renditions […] are so familiar to his following that whenever he stepped away from the microphone and nodded to the audience it filled in the words.”

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix. March 7, 1981.

Other Notes: There was no liquor or dancing permitted for these shows.

Fate of the Venue: At the time of this writing, Marquis Hall continues to serve as a venue for conferences, weddings and other public events.

Rockyview Park Community Centre. Calgary, Alberta.

Date:  March 7, 1981.

Venue: Rockyview Park Community Centre. 69th Street and Richmond Road. Calgary, AB. Canada. (approx. 3939 – 69th Street SW. Calgary, AB. T3H 3Y1. Canada.)

Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/yhSAAvtjVejGbVcb6

Venue Exterior: 

1962:

Above: Prior to becoming the Rockyview Park Community Centre, the building housed the Elbow Valley Curling Club. This photo is from that time. The building is identifiable by its pointed “laminated arch beam” roof.

2021:

Venue Interior:

1979:

Source: Calgary Herald. Sept. 27, 1979. Pg. C5.

Opening Act:  Sidewinder.

Source: Calgary Herald. Sept. 25, 1981. Pg. D9.

Poster / Flyer / Handbill:  I have not (yet) come across a poster, flyer or handbill for the Destroyers’ 1981 show at the Rockyview Park Community Centre.  Please get in touch if you have a scan or a photo that you can share.

Press & Promotion: 

Source: Calgary Herald. Feb. 28, 1981. Pg. H5.

Source: Calgary Herald. Mar. 5, 1981. Pg. D10.

Ticket Price:  Unknown.

Ticket Stub: I have not yet seen a ticket stub to this concert. If you have a photo or scan to share, please get in touch!

Attendance:  Unknown. The Rockyview Park Community Centre had legal capacity for 2,400 people in 1975. Venue operators typically capped attendance for rock concerts at 1,000 to 1,200 people.

Source: The Calgary Albertan. April 24, 1975. Pg. 6.

Set List:

  • Johnny B. Goode.
  • I’m Wanted.
  • One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
  • Madison Blues.

Source: Calgary Herald. March 9, 1981. Pg. B8; University of Calgary Gauntlet. March 11, 1981. Pg. 9.

Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.

Concert Photos:

Source: Calgary Herald. March 9, 1981. Pg. B8.

Concert Reaction:

This review by Roman Cooney of the Calgary Herald describes the scene on the stage and in the audience at the Rockyview Park Community Centre on March 7, 1981:

“From the moment George Thorogood cut through the smoke and noise of the crowded Rockyview Community Centre with Chuck Berry’s classic riff (from Johnny B. Goode, natch), there seemed little doubt that it would be a night for rock ‘n’ roll…

Ever the show-off while on stage, it’s Thorogood’s personality and his delivery, the brash showmanship and the simplicity of blues-rock (and a little country and western) that gives spirit to his routine.  There just isn’t any room for subtlety, what with the sax player squawking in the background, the bass player rumbling through the rhythm and the drummer making his own bid for dominance.  Thorogood doesn’t have time to treat it gently, so he slaps that big fat Gibson around and gives the crowd rock ‘n’ roll the way they want it.

Get the picture?  It ain’t the music, it’s the atmosphere.  In this case, straight out of a high school dance scene: the stuffy close quarters of a community hall like a high school gym; colorful streamers hung across the ceiling, leftover from a previous party of some sort; the sound unimaginably bad; people sneaking booze in under their jackets…

The crowd, now there’s a different story.  From boppers to bikers, you’re not likely to find these people at your basic KISS concert.  Some would have trouble picking Chuck Berry out of a crowd; others looked like they were around to buy his original recordings hot off the press…

As rock ‘n’ roll goes — not just the music, but the emotion as well, the best measure of good rock — Thorogood has the game aced.  He falls far short of being a guitarist of vast or varied technical skills, and he lacks innovation, but as a showman he’s hard to match.”

Source: Calgary Herald. March 9, 1981. Pg. B8.

Reviewer Robert Vaile from the University of Calgary’s Gauntlet student newspaper described “a night of unrelenting rock ‘n roll” at the Rockyview Park Community Centre on March 7, 1981:

“From the opening riffs it was all George Thorogood and the Destroyers at their hard-driving best. Their aggressive rock came like a well-deserved slap in the face in these times of heavily textured and seldom interesting pop music. Thorogood lives in the past, his idols are the blues greats of rock’s early years and he makes no bones about it. He lets the music do the talking.

The concert was held at the Rockyview Community Centre in the west end of town and the crowd that showed up included representatives of all groups of humanity. The common denominator was a love for straight ahead rock ‘n roll. The band just never let up…

Thorogood, much renowned for his stage antics and his aggressive playing style, was superb… He likes to see the crowd get involved and encouraged them to join in a few choruses. The audience responded approvingly. The Destroyers were tight and provided all the support that Thorogood needed. Drummer Jeff Simon and bassist Billy Blough worked hard to keep the beat while Thorogood ripped off solo after solo. Sax-man Hank Carter rounded out the band most admirably and it was unfortunate that his early solos were marred by feedback and distortion.

The evening raged on for over an hour before Thorogood decided to take a bit of a break and the band eased into its first slow number. This change of pace gave Thorogood a chance to demonstrate his true ability as a guitarist as he worked skillfully through the leads. He is not a great guitarist in terms of his ability to use a broad range of styles. However, he is an expert blues guitarist and what he doesn’t have in versatility he makes up for with unlimited energy and raw power. As we drove back to town with our ears pleasantly ringing, it was obvious that Saturday night with George Thorogood would be one to remember.”

Source: University of Calgary Gauntlet. March 11, 1981. Pg. 9.

Other Notes: None.

Fate of the Venue: The Rockyview Park Community Centre was still in operation as of 1982, but was replaced by the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre at that site as of January 1984. At the time of this writing, the former Rockyview Park Community Centre is home to Westside King’s Church.

Source: Calgary Herald. Aug. 10, 1996. Pg. G7.